awards: Order of Liberation 1963 - National Order of Merit Croix de guerre 1914–1918

1915 - Croix de guerre 1939–1945 Royal Victorian Order 1965 - Order of the Elephant Order of the White Rose of Finland Order of the Dragon of Annam Royal Order of Cambodia 1960 - Royal Victorian Chain Order of the Royal House of Chakri 1920 - Silver Cross

Charles de Gaulle is one of the most famous names of France’s political history, who is remembered by the masses even today. Right from his days at the military institution as a teenager, Charles proved his leadership abilities and showed the potential of being a great military leader of his country. He expressed his dislike towards the obsolete war techniques used by his country’s army during the early days as a soldier and even changed the strategy to keep any opposition at bay. The innovative technique he used was that of sneaking into enemy territory and gathering all the information that is being communicated amongst the members of the enemy military force. He also came into the limelight for opposing the French government’s idea of signing a peace treaty with the Nazi German forces. The great military leader even penned a book which analysed the loopholes and strengths of the German forces. His other written work talks about how exactly a military troop should be organized. Eventually, this great leader rose to the ranks of becoming the president of his country and served in this position for a period of eleven years. His life is an excellent example of leadership which inspires people even today

Charles de Gaulle was one among the five children born to a teacher named Henri de Gaulle, on 22nd November, 1890. The place of his birth was a city named Lille, located in the north of France.

In 1909, Charles enrolled at a defence institution named ‘Saint Cyr’ in a bid to become a military leader.

He graduated from this esteemed institution in 1912 and was ranked 13th amongst the 210 cadets who had enrolled, for his outstanding performance as a cadet. Many of his seniors also felt that de Gaulle would be a great military leader who would make his nation really proud.

Unlike most other cadets, Charles preferred working in France rather than relocate to another country. Thus, he became a part of the ‘33rd Infantry Regiment’ division of the French armed force and soon shifted base to the Arras region of France.

The French soldiers had to completely prepare themselves for World War-I at that time. Charles utilized his time to the best possible extent by interacting with senior officers at Arras and devising new methods to help them win the battle.

Charles, along with the other fellow soldiers of the ‘33rd Infantry Regiment’, were sent to the Belgian town of Dinant to keep the German army at bay. De Gaulle was severely hurt by a bullet wound during the battle.

He was infuriated by the French Commander, General Charles Lanrezac’s adoption of obsolete, predictable methods of fighting the war. Eventually the French army suffered heavy losses in terms of casualties and ammunitions.

Gaulle grabbed the attention of the military forces by his unique military strategy which he started using in early 1915. The smart soldier managed to cleverly extract information from the enemy territory by crawling into their land.

In 1916, while participating in the ‘Battle of Verdun’, he was cornered by enemies and attacked, which made him physically unfit to fight for the next 32 months. Charles then was detained by the German forces at a military camp.

Poland and Russia were involved in a war in the period 1919-21, during which Charles was one among the few members who were a part of the French Military Mission to Poland. He even tries guiding the Polish troops to success by serving as their chief instructor.

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During the 1920’s, Charles was given the responsibility of commanding a light infantry battalion. He even travelled to Syria and Rhineland during this period on work-related assignments.

He was later promoted to the designation of lieutenant Colonel during the 1930’s and was stationed at France.

His way of managing the soldiers during this battle is one of the few highlights of World War-II, which the country is really proud of. By mid-1940, Charles was promoted to the designation of the Under-secretary of state for ‘National Defence and War’, by the country’s Prime Minister Paul Reynaud.

Reynaud soon stepped down and Marshal Petain succeeded him as the new Prime Minister of France. Petain had thought of entering into a treaty of friendship with Germany, which was then ruled by the Nazis.

Infuriated by this decision of the French Premier, de Gaulle and his other military colleagues rebelled against the new government. He then moved out of the country and formed the ‘Free French Forces’ army troupe, which consisted of many other French natives residing outside France, just like him.

Charles then founded the ‘Free French National’ in 1941 and even held the position of the president.

In the year 1945, elections were held in France to elect a new government, De Gaulle had garnered the support of French nationals during the time this contest was held. Several parties such as the Communists, socialists and the ‘Popular Republican Party’ had gained significant votes during the elections.

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Although Charles was elected as the president of the nation, he resigned within a very short period of time owing to difference in opinions with the members of the Communist party.

In 1958, Charles returned to power and secured the title of being the ‘18th President of France’. One of the major tasks he undertook during this period was putting an end to the violence in the war-torn Algeria, which was a French colony. As per his orders, Algeria went on to become a free nation.

Charles had to step down from power in 1969 due to a revolt caused by the students, after serving for a period of eleven years.

Charles de Gaulle was given the responsibility of handling the military division ‘4e division cuirassee’ in 1940, while World War-II was at its peak. Under the leadership of Charles, the troop managed to restrict the aggressive German forces to Caumont region of South-Eastern France.

Charles tied the knot with Yvonne Vendroux on 7 April, 1921. The couple later became parents to three children named Elisabeth, Philippe and Anne. Unfortunately, Anne suffered from Down’s syndrome as a child and was later diagnosed with Pneumonia. She then succumbed to the disease at the raw age of 20.

Yvonne was an ardent catholic, who was disliked by a few sections of the French society due to her moral policing act. She raised her voice against pornography and even objected the use of short skirts in the country.

While he was detained by the German forces, Charles penned a book titled ‘The Enemy and the True Enemy’ in which he tried giving an insight of the way the German empire functions. This work was finally released in 1924.

Charles had penned a book named ‘Vers’ larmee de Metier’ in the year 1934, which spoke about how professionally organised an army is supposed to be.

Charles was quite closely connected with all his siblings, namely, Marie-Agnes, Xavier, Jacques and Pierre. He was quite emotionally attached to Pierre, the youngest of all the children, who even bore a striking resemblance to the French military leader.

This famous French military leader passed away on November 9, 1970; he was 80 years old at the time of his death. It’s said that Charles was watching television in the evening when he suddenly collapsed. Later, it was discovered that the rupture of one of his blood vessels was the cause of death.

Although he collaborated with the allied forces, Charles de Gaulle had developed a bitter rivalry with the British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, over the years. He even disliked the idea of France being a member of the ‘European Economic Committee’ since he felt America would interfere too much in the committee’s affairs.